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Posted 11 September 2012 - 08:36 AM

I don't suspect it is primarily cultural when the majority of countries that don't allow women to drive, or severely limit it, are predominately Muslim.

Did you hear about the city that is going to be made up of all women? My first thought was if the women in that city will be able to drive! Does anyone know? http://www.guardian....y-women-workers

Wow, I wonder how they will manage that? What are they going to bus women to work every day? It is awful how some in the Muslim faith treat women! I'm actually curious if this is just Sharia or do all Muslims treat women as less than them? I don't know anyone to ask, so hopefully someone here can shed more light on this for us.

Posted 11 September 2012 - 12:03 PM

Jessi

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Sheikh Ayed Al-Qarni, a Saudi Islamic scholar, has said that neither the Qur'an nor the sunnah prohibits women from driving and that it is better for a woman to drive herself than to be driven by a stranger without a legal escort.[91] (He also stated, however, that he "personally will not allow [his] wife or daughters or sisters to drive."[91]) Women are forbidden to drive in Saudi Arabia per a 1990 fatwa (religious ruling);[92] Saudi Arabia is currently the only Muslim country that bans women from driving.[93][94] When the Taliban ruled Afghanistan, they issued a 2001 decree that also banned women from driving.[95]John Esposito, professor of International Affairs and Islamic Studies at Georgetown University, has argued that these restrictions originate from cultural customs and not Islam.[96]

I found this, which explains some of it.

I'm also curious about the female city that you linked. I hadn't heard about it at all.

Posted 11 September 2012 - 12:26 PM

Stephanie

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So I did a little more snooping and I was wrong to make the assumption that it is actually illegal in "most" Muslim countries. However, many women are unable to drive if their husbands or families don't give them permission to, which seems to equate to the same thing.

Getting back to that city, I was under the impression that there really won't be any men around. At all. Maybe they haven't sorted it all out yet.

"A Catholic is a person who has plucked up the courage to face the incredible and inconceivable idea that something else may be wiser than he is." G. K. Chesterton

Posted 11 September 2012 - 12:49 PM

I don't suspect it is primarily cultural when the majority of countries that don't allow women to drive, or severely limit it, are predominately Muslim.

Did you hear about the city that is going to be made up of all women? My first thought was if the women in that city will be able to drive! Does anyone know? http://www.guardian....y-women-workers

I don't think women in that new city are going to be allowed to drive either. The law applies to all of Saudi Arabia, this women-only city included. It is said to be a non-enforcable cultural law to protect women from harassment on the road, but it does seem like an extreme example of sexism. I hope the women there win this fight for their right to drive freely like their counterparts in the UAE and other Islamic countries.

Posted 12 September 2012 - 03:15 AM

SpYkz

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Wow, I wonder how they will manage that? What are they going to bus women to work every day? It is awful how some in the Muslim faith treat women! I'm actually curious if this is just Sharia or do all Muslims treat women as less than them? I don't know anyone to ask, so hopefully someone here can shed more light on this for us.

As a muslim I am curious to know what you mean by Muslims treating women less than them? If you can give me some examples maybe it would clear it up.

Posted 12 September 2012 - 03:20 AM

SpYkz

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I don't think women in that new city are going to be allowed to drive either. The law applies to all of Saudi Arabia, this women-only city included. It is said to be a non-enforcable cultural law to protect women from harassment on the road, but it does seem like an extreme example of sexism. I hope the women there win this fight for their right to drive freely like their counterparts in the UAE and other Islamic countries.

Women are not allowed to drive because men are supposed to take them wherever they want to go. My mom doesn't drive so my dad takes her wherever she wants to go anywhere. Two of my sisters have license and drive but that's their personal choice and not because they are following the Islamic law.

Posted 12 September 2012 - 06:35 AM

IsabelleChan

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That's pathetic. I can't believe how sexist the world actually is. There's still a long way to go until we reach gender equality. Forbidding women to drive is just one of the many constraints that women have to suffer in the present age. Muslim is a patriarchal religion and it's tragic to see that women are living under the suppression of men. Driving is a civil right and I don't know why women are forbidden to do so just because of their gender.

Posted 13 September 2012 - 02:39 AM

SpYkz

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We believe that women are different from men. This doesn't make them inferior in any way. You beleive that if women are not allowed to do the same things as men then they are being treated unfairly. I don't agree with this

Posted 13 September 2012 - 03:04 AM

unarmedthinker

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A female ban on driving is not universal in Islam. The ban on women driving is only in Saudi Arabia as far as I'm aware. Can someone confirm whether a ban on women driving has been adopted by other states?

I don't agree with this law, it is yet another example of female depression. To protect women from harassment on the road? Does anyone actually believe any of this nonsense?

Posted 17 September 2012 - 12:43 AM

SpYkz

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A female ban on driving is not universal in Islam. The ban on women driving is only in Saudi Arabia as far as I'm aware. Can someone confirm whether a ban on women driving has been adopted by other states?

I don't agree with this law, it is yet another example of female depression. To protect women from harassment on the road? Does anyone actually believe any of this nonsense?

I was waiting for someone else to answer. Although every copy of the Quran is the same. We are allowed to have differences. Some scholars allow driving for women and some don't. The Saudi's are followers of Imam Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab and don't allow driving for women.

Posted 02 October 2012 - 04:58 PM

LookingAtWhy

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SpYkz. I think you are missing what people are saying here. What they are saying is that women in Islam are second class citizens. The driving is just an example of many other problems.
For example why should men get twice as much as a female in property settlements? Also that women can not direct their estate as they want but the males get the wealth?
Women that get raped require 4 males to say she did get raped. If 4 can't be found then she was not raped. She then is unclean and can be stoned.

Posted 03 October 2012 - 06:52 AM

eveningmoons

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When your life is not based on truth of any kind you become obsessed with these rules and laws. It is the only thing that makes you know who you are and helps you feel secure. You become oblivious to the suffering around you and all you care about are rules and laws. This is the way of the Pharisees of the bible. Unfortunately if you live by the sword you will die by it. That which you sow you will reap. It's not a good path.Many people love the law but hate their fellow men. Their hate for their fellow men strengthens their love for law.

“What we are looking for is what is looking.” - St. Francis of Assisi

"God can be realized through all paths. All religions are true. The important thing is to reach the roof. You can reach it by stone stairs or by wooden stairs or by bamboo steps or by a rope. You can also climb up by a bamboo pole." - Sri Ramakrishna

Posted 03 October 2012 - 11:02 AM

Matie

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When your life is not based on truth of any kind you become obsessed with these rules and laws. It is the only thing that makes you know who you are and helps you feel secure. You become oblivious to the suffering around you and all you care about are rules and laws. This is the way of the Pharisees of the bible. Unfortunately if you live by the sword you will die by it. That which you sow you will reap. It's not a good path.Many people love the law but hate their fellow men. Their hate for their fellow men strengthens their love for law.

+11111 for this great explanation!

But it seems the issue is that many people are uninformed, thinking that Islam religion and Muslim culture are the same, which is not.

Sexism and chauvinism are a universal fact that still exists.

In Latin American countries such as mine, sexism is pretty much prevalent as sort of an unspoken, internalized agreement in society. It's not that obvious, but it's still there.

Posted 04 October 2012 - 01:55 AM

ghanashyam

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That artilce from GUARDIAN was interesting. Though I wonder if the Saudi Govt could not make necessary reform in the existing state of affairs just as in other non-Islamic countries where men and women work together.
Read further;
"I'm sure that women can demonstrate their efficiency in many aspects and clarify the industries that best suit their interests, nature and ability......"
Do the women need another city or country to prove that they are efficient? ( according to that country)
Did not Benzir Bhutto ( Pakistan) prove that woman are as efficient as man?

Posted 04 October 2012 - 02:22 AM

What they are saying is that women in Islam are second class citizens.

Thats an opinion not a fact

For example why should men get twice as much as a female in property settlements? Also that women can not direct their estate as they want but the males get the wealth?

If the father passes away the brother gets double but it becomes his responsibility to look after his mother and unmarried sisters. Islamic law dictates estate distribution for both men and women. Not sure what you mean by males getting the wealth if you mean owenrship then the ownership of a women is equal to that of a man.

Women that get raped require 4 males to say she did get raped. If 4 can't be found then she was not raped. She then is unclean and can be stoned.

You have this one muddled up. Stoning only takes place if four witness testify that a married women or man commits adultry.

Posted 04 October 2012 - 02:26 AM

SpYkz

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When your life is not based on truth of any kind you become obsessed with these rules and laws. It is the only thing that makes you know who you are and helps you feel secure. You become oblivious to the suffering around you and all you care about are rules and laws. This is the way of the Pharisees of the bible. Unfortunately if you live by the sword you will die by it. That which you sow you will reap. It's not a good path.Many people love the law but hate their fellow men. Their hate for their fellow men strengthens their love for law.

Who gets to say whats truth and whats lies? The hearts of people are often clouded with hate, anger, jealousy and evil passions like love for wealth. That's what causes people to become blind to sufferings around them. Laws protect people from being abused and being taken advantage of.